Golding brands SOE in Rockfort a ‘PR exercise’

Leader of the Opposition People's National Party (PNP), Mark Golding, has criticised the Government's declaration of a state of public emergency (SOE) for Rockfort and surrounding areas within the East Kingston Police Division.

Golding said the island's security forces already have the necessary tools to take control of areas that are overran with violence.

"You know I think that's (the SOE) really a PR exercise.

"I've driven through... part of the area covered by the SOE, and I haven't seen one soldier or police until I got to the police station where we are now," Golding told reporters during a tour of Rockfort and surrounding areas on Friday.

The SOE was imposed as a direct response to Monday night's mass shooting in Pleasant Heights in Rockfort, which claimed the lives of five men, two of whom the police have described as having been gangsters.

Two other persons were shot and injured in the attack.

The parliamentary Opposition has long held the view that the use of SOEs as a crime fighting measure is unconstitutional, and the position was hammered home by Golding on Friday.

"I don't think that response (the declaration of an SOE) is, as you know, lawful, and we've taken that matter (of the use of SOEs as a crime fighting tool) to the Constitutional Court, and we're awaiting the hearing of that matter," said Golding.

According to the Office of Prime Minister (OPM), the SOE was declared after thorough assessments by the security forces, which indicated that the elevated levels of violent criminal activity within the designated areas were of such severity and scale that they pose a significant threat to public safety.

But Golding believes that the security forces can make significant gains in their general fight against crime without the use of SOEs.

He pointed to, for example, the police and the Jamaica Defence Force's recent 'Operation Recovery' in Trelawny, which he said was "an intensive saturation of the space which had been affected by violence and lotto scamming."

Golding said the security forces found weapons and arrested various persons during that operation.

"... There was no SOE there. So, you know to my mind, what it shows you is that the necessary tools to get control of an area exists without resorting to the ultimate constitutional weapon," he stated.

Prime Minister Andrew Holness, in commenting on the imposition of the new SOE on Friday, said that, "(Monday) night's murders in Rockfort have shocked the nation.

"We have taken decisive steps to safeguard the lives of our citizens and prevent further acts of organised violence," he declared.

"The Government, in close coordination with the security forces, is committed to taking the urgent steps to restore order and ensure the safety of the affected residents," Holness stated.